The Longest Way to Plan to Eventually Go on a Double Date
by Katherine A. Jones
Summary: Sirius, Marlene, James, and Lily could quite possibly have the most dramatic, hysterical, insane double date of all time. But will it ever actually happen? Blackinnon and Jily.
1. Chapter 2

**Hey there everyone! This is the second chapter of _The Longest, Most Convoluted and Absolutely Ridiculous Way to Plan to Eventually Go on a Double Date_ (_The Longest Way to Plan to Eventually Go on a Double Date_ for short). The first chapter is on my wonderful friend _haleyisafangirl_'s page, so if you haven't read that yet, go check it out because it is AMAZING and set us up for this wonderful adventure. Plus, this could get really confusing if you haven't read that. And she's just an all around fantastic person and deserves some more love. And I could go on and on about how great she is, but you all want to hurry up and read.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**So, without further ado, here is chapter 2!**

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><p>"Ex-excuse me?!"<p>

These were the first words Lily uttered after a lengthy silence during which Marlene decided it best not to talk. Now, however, she thought it best to step in and explain.

"Lily, please. I know you don't like him-"

"I . . . I _don't like him_?! I simply _don't like him_?! I thought you knew me better than that, Marlene! I thought you, of all people, would understand how much I absolutely despise him! Mary maybe not, but you?"

Marlene looked at her incredulously, "You can't seriously still be mad at him after all this time. The guy has practically been begging at your feet for years! If it weren't for his ego, he probably would beg at your feet! And even if you are going to insist on staying mad at him forever, surely you can put those feelings aside for _one date_! Please, for me." Marlene gave her the puppy dog eyes that had ensured she got her way for almost six years now.

Lily closed her eyes and took a deep breath, counting to ten in her head before opening them again, "I know this date with Sirius means a lot to you and I really don't mean to bring out my anger on you, or even Sirius, but that . . . that . . . _boy_," Lily spat the word like a bad taste in her mouth, "is just so infuriating! With his arrogance, his conceit, and his selfish disdain for the feelings of others, he is the last boy in the world I would ever consider going out with!"

"Lily, you're being ridiculous. There are far worse men in the world to date. Or even to know. Death Eaters, for example."

Lily's eyes filled with hurt and she murmured, "I thought we were all done with that."

Marlene's hands flew to her mouth and it took her a couple seconds to say, "You know that's not what I meant."

"Doesn't matter," Lily muttered, turning away and starting to get dressed.

Marlene continued to try and apologize, but the words seemed to bounce off Lily as she finished getting dressed and headed to the door. "Don't wait up for me," were the last words she said before closing the door behind herself.

She was heading down the stairs when she heard the voice of James and panicked. Instead of heading back up to the girls' dorm, she ended up on the boys' stairs and ran through the first open door. It took only a few seconds for her to realize it was the room of the Marauder's however, but with James only stairs away, she did the first thing that came to mind: dive under a bed. Her face was pointed towards the underside of the bed as she tried to be as quiet as possible and control her breathing and pounding heart.

She regretted her decision on this particular bed, however, when it's owner collapsed on it.

It was only when she heard Sirius' voice loud and clear and next to the bed that she started to really panic, because it meant that she, Lily Marie Evans was only separated from James Alexander Potter by a not so thick mattress. Crap.

The ensuing conversation was odd as she could only hear Sirius for most of it (and Remus when he came in), but when James did speak it . . . hurt . . . for some reason. Lily knew she ought to be delighted that James was finally giving up, but she wasn't, and that scared her.

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><p>Completely oblivious to Lily contemplating a few of her life choices under his bed, James rose and took the tie from Sirius.<p>

"First off, no we are not because Lily is not going to say yes. Second off, even if we were, neither of us is going to wear this tie."

Sirius pouted, "Why not? This is a perfectly beautiful tie!"

Remus snorted, "Yeah, about as beautiful as your behind."

"Well then it must be gorgeous," Sirius retorted with a smirk.

Remus and James both rolled their eyes but didn't press the matter.

"But back to the real matter at hand, why do you two have a double date?" Remus asked as he grabbed a book.

"Because this bloody prat in front of us finally bucked up (heh, bucked up) the courage to ask Marlene McKinnon on a date. He obviously doesn't have enough courage, however, to go on it alone as he made the requirement that Lily had to say yes to me asking her out and it would be a double date." James gave Remus an unamused smile, more like a grimace actually, and then turned his head to glare at Sirius.

"Alright," Sirius roared when Remus gave him a face somewhere between amusement and disbelief, "Let's get a few things straight here. Firstly, I didn't make it a double date because I don't have enough _courage_. I'm in Gryffindor for a reason, after all. Secondly, the real reason I made it a double date is because James has absolutely horrid game and should be ashamed of himself for giving up so soon."

James glare turned to incredulous, "So . . . so _soon_?! It has been almost six bloody _years_! I have every right to give up! Honestly, the fact that I've chased her this long should be reason enough to give up, not to mention the constant refusals! I can only have my heart stepped on so many times before it's just not worth it anymore."

"More like it's your ego that's been stepped on so many times," Remus muttered from the pages of his book.

Before James could retort, however, Peter showed up.

"Sorry I'm late, McGonagall wanted to talk with me. What did I miss?"

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><p>A couple hours later, Marlene was pacing the girls' room, worrying about where Lily had gotten off to. Sure, they had fought, but Lily never took this long to get over a fight, especially one so generally insignificant.<p>

"Stop worrying so much," Mary called from her bed. "Lily will be back soon, she always is. She probably just got caught up reading in the library and lost track of time."

"The library's been closed for an hour," Marlene snapped.

Dorcas rolled her eyes, "Honestly, if you're so worried, why don't you just go find her?"

"She wasn't in the common room when I checked earlier."

"So check again. Better yet, go get some help. You have a right to ask something of Sirius now that he's asked you on a date."

Marlene looked up at her roommate, her mouth open for a moment before she said, "Yeah, I'll go do that," and left the room.

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><p>The boys all looked towards the door when they heard a knock. Sirius was the closest, so he opened the door to Marlene's worried face.<p>

"Mar, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Lily's gone."

James sat up straight from where he had been lounging on his bed. "What do you mean she's gone?"

"I don't know where she is. We fought a couple of hours ago and I haven't seen her since."

Sirius and James glanced at each other for a second before Sirius turned back to Marlene and asked, "Why don't you come in?" as James got off his bed and went for his open trunk, extracting a seemingly blank sheet of paper.

He murmured a few words as Marlene sat down on Sirius' bed and started looking randomly around the paper.

"What is that?" Marlene asked.

"A map," Sirius answered, "It shows the whole school and if Lily is in the school, she's on this paper."

James stopped looking around the map and stared at one spot with a wrinkled brow and disbelieving eyes.

"What? What is it? Where is she?" Marlene asked.

"Lily's right . . ." James looked up and stared at his bed, "There."

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><p><strong>Oh my gosh, you all don't even know how much fun I had writing this chapter.<strong>

**If you loved it too, please let me know by reviewing or favoriting because I love getting messages from people saying they like what I've written and it just brightens up my day and encourages me to keep writing. Seriously, I don't need much. Exclamation marks are a wonderful creation. **

**And there is something else I was supposed to say . . . oh yeah! The third chapter will be up on Thursday by _haleyisafangirl_, so don't forget to go check that out and see what she did with this wonderful twist of fate I threw at her. She handles everything like a champ. **

**Oh, and if you spot the Pride and Prejudice reference, let me know.**

**See you again next week! **

**-Katherine**


	2. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Welcome to the 4th chapter of _The Longest, Most Convoluted and Absolutely Ridiculous Way to Plan to Eventually Go on a Double Date._ **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

**This one isn't quite as funny as the last one, but I hope you'll still enjoy it!**

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><p>Wednesday dawned bright and early in Gryffindor tower and the occupants rose for the day with it. Lily managed to awake before too many people were in the common room and made her way up to her dorm to get ready for the day. She yawned a "Good morning" to her roommates before slipping into the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, oblivious to their stares at her unkempt appearance and the glances of her roommates to each other, silently asking where she had been.<p>

Feeling much more awake, Lily reentered the bedroom with a smile on her face that quickly fell when she saw Marlene, always the first one up, still buried under her blankets and sheets with her pillow between her arms.

Lily looked at Mary and Dorcas for answers, but they just shrugged with apologetic looks.

Mary said, "She came in with tears in her eyes, but didn't speak a word, simply going to bed."

"Marlene?" Lily walked over to the blonde's bed and sat down. "Are you okay, sweetie? Tell me what's wrong."

A defeated voice answered from under the blanket mountain, "I broke off the double date with Sirius."

Lily furrowed her brow, "But . . . why?"

Marlene looked over her shoulder at Lily, "Because he laughed at you! And when I asked why, he said it was funny that you had heard everything they said!"

Lily looked at Marlene in shock for a moment before starting to laugh. Not a simple kind of chuckled, but a full bent-double laughing-so-hard-she-couldn't-breath kind of laugh.

Marlene sat up, a frown on her face and her hair messily surrounding her head like a halo or mane, and waited for Lily to stop.

After a good 5 minutes, the laughs turned to the occasional giggle and finally disappeared altogether.

"What's so funny?" Marlene asked, a line between her eyebrows.

"Just . . . Marlene, it's okay. I'm a big girl; I can defend myself. Plus, you have to admit that it was kind of funny. Humiliating, yes, but funny."

Marlene looked down at her blankets and there was a moment's silence before she asked in a small voice, "Do you think Sirius will accept an apology and still go on the date with me?"

"Marlene, I think you would have to do something absolutely dreadful before Sirius would say no to a date with you," Lily replied, smiling.

Lily could see the hint of a smile through the hair hanging on the sides of Marlene's face. Reassured, she gave Marlene a quick hug before saying, "We should get down to breakfast soon before all of the good stuff's gone."

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><p>"What's wrong with you, Wormtail? You seem distracted," Remus observed as he finished packing his schoolbag on the floor. "You put your robes on backwards.<p>

"What? Oh. I . . . McGonagall knows," Peter replied as he fixed his robes.

"Knows? Knows what?" James asked from where he was lounging on his bed with his hair its usual mess, waiting for everyone else to get ready. Sirius was still knocked out cold on his stomach with his mouth open and drool on his pillow.

Peter looked down at Sirius, "He should be awake to hear this."

And suddenly Sirius had flown out of his bed and was hanging upside down as if held by his ankle, his sheets settling back on the bed after their abrupt airboreness.

"FOR THE LAST BLOODY TIME, CAN YOU NOT JUST SET A BLOODY ALARM TO WAKE ME UP?!" Sirius roared above the laughter of his friends.

When James had let Sirius down onto his bed and everything had calmed, Peter explained what McGonagall had spoken to him about the night before.

"Seems simple enough to fix," James said when Peter was done, examining his sweater for those annoying yarn balls that must be pulled off for a lumpless look.

"Simple?! What do you mean simple?!" Remus asked, panic in his voice and his eyes wild.

"Whoa, Remus, mate, calm down," Sirius' eyes were wide as he looked at his werewolf friend, "But, Prongs, what _do_ you mean by simple? This is not the time for a simple solution."

"But it is a simple solution. We just have to be more cautious. And you know what, Moony? If Dumbledore trusts you, then I'm sure McGonagall can, too."

"But, James, putting me aside, if you all are caught, you will be in major trouble."

James gave Remus a particular look, "Padfoot it right, you do need to calm down, Moony. We haven't been caught yet, so we shouldn't worry yet."

"But you heard Peter. McGonagall _knows_."

"Correction: McGonagall _suspects_, and until she has actual proof, she can't do anything."

Sirius thought it all over, "Prongs is right. Besides, I'm starving. Let's head down to breakfast."

At that, all of the Marauders turned and stared at Sirius like he had two heads.

"What?"

"Pajamas, Padfoot."

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><p>If this were another school, it might take a couple of days for the drama of the night before to circulate, but as this is Hogwarts, and the drama was the most exciting thing to happen recently, what happened the night before traveled exponentially quickly.<p>

Whispered conversations stopped as those involved passed through the halls, making the halls sound filled with ocean waves coming to shore and leaving shore. The noise of new gossip and stories was like swells before a storm. Everyone was wondering when the actual storm would start.

Lily, Marlene, Mary, Dorcas, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter all took notice of this attitude as they headed down to breakfast (the two groups separate, of course - the cut had not been sewn back together yet) and did their best to ignore the stares and curious expression thrown their way through the silence.

While all had their mind on the happenings of the past 12 hours, a certain hazel eyed boy was thinking especially about a certain redhaired girl, and a certain redhaired girl was thinking especially about a certain hazel eyed boy.

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><p><strong>Lame ending is lame. <strong>

**I tried, guys, but the words just did not want to cooperate. **

**Anyway, just a quick reminder, Haley will post the 5th chapter on her account on Thursday, and I will put up the 6th chapter next Monday.**

**Wow, I don't like this author's note as much as I liked last week's author's note, but I need to get back to my homework, so it will just have to do.**

**And by the way, I love getting reviews and always respond, even if you just send an exclamation mark or something, so yeah. **

**Until next week, then, have a great one!**

**-Katherine**


	3. Chapter 6

**Oh, wow, I remember writing this chapter... I apologize in advance for the last part... You will get to see a couple other characters, though, so that's cool. That's all I really have to say, I guess. Here's chapter 6!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p>"Hi, Remus," a glum voice said above the Marauder.<p>

Remus looked up in surprise from his books as his fellow Prefect fell into a seat beside him at the library table he was currently occupying.

"Hi, Lily. What's going on?"

"Can I talk to you?" Lily asked, scrutinizing his face.

"Sure, I guess," he said, frowning a little.

"Why are your friends so annoying?"

Remus had to stifle his laughter for fear of being kicked out, "Honestly, I don't have any better of an answer than you. You could ask them, though."

Lily sighed and laid her head down on her folded arms, "I was afraid you would say that. James is avoiding me."

Remus gave the redhead a look between amusement and exasperation, "Well, you can't exactly expect him to be totally comfortable around you after yesterday."

"I know. . . ."

"Just give him some time, he'll come around and will be fawning over you by the end of the week."

Lily was silent, looking over Remus' papers from the corners of her eyes.

"Where is Sirius, anyway?" Remus asked, frowning and looking around. "He was supposed to meet me here. 'Course, he wouldn't actually do homework, so I suppose the point of him coming here would be moot, but he still said he would come."

It was Lily's turn to stifle laughter.

"What?" was Remus' confused reply.

Lily smirked, "Marlene dragged him off to a classroom after Transfiguration, but not before he was hanging upside down in the middle of the hall upon refusing to speak to her. We'll just have to wait and see how that goes."

Remus grinned.

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><p>Now that she had Sirius alone, Marlene realised that she had no idea what she was going to say. That, of course, never made for good conversation, and she unfortunately jumped at the first thing that came to mind.<p>

"Why have you been avoiding me all day?" Marlene asked as she folded her arms.

"I . . . I haven't been avoiding you, I just haven't noticed you've been trying to get my attention."

Marlene glared, "That's bull and you know it. Now answer the question truthfully."

Sirius ran a weary hand down his face and walked over to the nearest desk, sitting down before speaking again, "What could we possibly have to talk about? You broke off the date and seeing as how mad you were last night, I thought you were never going to speak to me again."

"Yes, well, if you hadn't avoided me for so long, you would have known earlier that I was planning on asking if the date could be . . . unbroken. I wasn't even going to complain about it being a double date."

For the first time in his life, Sirius was speechless for several long minutes. Finally, "Wait, what?" came out of his lips.

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><p>Snape had watched the Lily-Potter interaction at the end of Transfigurations with a mix of surprise and jealousy, for Lily was quite obviously not as opposed to Potter as she had once been. He was now sitting in his dorm only half concentrating on his Potions homework, his mind wandering to times long past and future plans no longer possible.<p>

He could no longer deny that he missed Lily. Missed her more than missing Hogwarts during the summer months. They had been through so many years together, he and Lily, and it felt . . . odd . . . to not be walking through the halls with her between classes or doing his homework with her in the library. While he knew that there was no way he was going to be able to win her back at this point, his blood boiled at the thought that Potter might still be able to win her. It wasn't as if the Gryffindor had been there all of the time Petunia had made Lily cry the way Snape had been.

So basically, Potter didn't have any sort of right to Lily and certainly no where near the rights Snape had. Or used to have, anyway.

All of the anger suddenly gone from Snape's body, he let his face collapse into his hands and sighed, rubbing his tired eyes.

"What's up with you, Snape?"

Macnair's voice brought the Slytherin back to the present.

"Nothing, just this stupid homework. I mean, the only reason Slughorn assigned it is because two people in the class didn't understand what they were doing. Bloody idiots shouldn't even be in that class."

And with that, Snape cast the thoughts of Lily and Potter as far back into his mind as he possibly could in the hope of finishing his essay. Unfortunately for him, it was not nearly far enough back.

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><p>"What do you think is going on with Lily? She's acting differently," Dorcas asked Mary, looking over at where Lily and Remus were together, as the two lounged in the library.<p>

"What do you mean?" Mary asked.

"I mentioned something about James to her earlier and she just went all funny, like she was hiding something or I had accused her of something."

The librarian shushed them and Dorcas glared at her when her back was turned.

Mary sat up and leaned back against her chair, "I noticed that, but I doubt she slept well in that chair last night."

"True. . . . What do you think was actually said in the Marauder's room?"

"Hell if I know, but let me know if you find out."

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><p>James paced up and down his dorm room in front of where Peter was sitting on one of the beds.<p>

"And I just ran! I never run from girls!" the black-haired boy concluded.

"Well, so be fair, you don't consider Lily just any girl," Peter replied, watching James' moving figure.

James stopped and faced his roommate, "Peter, I need to be getting over her."

Peter shrugged, "Maybe you'll just never get over her."

James walked over to the bed and fell back on it, but a moment later he was up and pacing again.

"And where are Sirius and Remus? They should be here! I'm having a midlife crisis here!"

"Prongs, you are not middle-aged yet, so you can't be having a midlife crisis."

"You don't know that. With all of this uncertainty surrounding You-Know-Who, I might only live to be 34, which would make this the middle of my life."

Peter rolled his eyes, "Please, if anyone is going to survive You-Know-Who, it's going to be you."

James smirked a little, "Thanks, Wormtail."

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><p><strong>So...hi. You know what? I'm just going to apologize for this whole chapter because it was late when I wrote it and when I write past midnight, I have no filter and will write a lot of jokes that just make you sob because JILY! Just ask Haley; I left a note on the document to apologize. I have to say, though, I did a pretty good job considering I didn't go back and edit until just now and I only had to make one or two changes.<strong>

**Just to clarify, they are in the end of their 6th year, but because James's birthday has already happened by this point, he is 17, which is why he would die at 34 to make this a midlife crisis. Yeah. **

**Okay, again, reviews are amazing and I do reply, even if it takes me a long time, but I think I'm all caught up on replying now so I will do so now and hope I will be better about it. It can be as short or as long as you want and I love improving my writing, so send on in the constructive criticism. I would love to answer any questions you have to help clarify or add onto anything else.**

**And (hopefully) Haley's account will be up and running again this Thursday and she will put the 7th chapter there, along with adding the 5th. If not, I guess I'll just put it on my account again.**

**Until next time!**

**-Katherine**


	4. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone! Wow, this took me a lot longer than usual to get up. Sorry! I was swallowed by AP World History homework. Thank goodness all of the craziness of Haley's account is sorted out! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, though, so I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p>"HOW DARE YOU!" Lily, in all her pajama clad glory, screeched at the cowering Snape. "HOW BLOODY DARE YOU AIM A CURSE AT SOMEONE WHEN THEIR BACK IS TURNED! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF! COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY YOU MISSED OR YOU WOULD HAVE SOMEONE OF MORE POWER THAN ME TO ANSWER TO."<p>

Mary was shaking in Marlene's arms after what just happened while the rest looked stricken as a sound they had never heard from Lily before filled the surrounding space. James was suddenly starting to entertain the idea of never making the redhead mad ever again while Sirius, despite the gravity of the situation, was slightly amused. Remus, a mixture between proud and frightened of his fellow Prefect, had decided his best course of action was tending to the boils that had erupted all over Peter's face during the fight.

Suddenly, Lily drew her wand and pointed it at Snape's face. In the silence following this action, everyone was motionless for several long minutes. Finally, Lily sneered, "You're not worth the breath," and turned away, her face showing her absolute lividness clearly. Before anyone could do anything, however, she turned back around and kicked the Slytherin in the abdomen, knocking the air out of him. Then she turned back around and muttered, "C'mon, let's get Mary to the hospital wing for a potion to calm her down."

And so the Gryffindors left the greasy-haired boy on the floor and headed to Madam Pomfrey as suggested.

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><p>Once all were settled again in the common room, Mary having taken her potion and no one in the mood to eat, James walked over to Lily and sat down beside her.<p>

"He wasn't worth the breath but he was worth the muscle movement."

Lily shrugged, "I used to play football."

James gave her a blank look.

"Muggle sport. Little like quidditch."

James nodded.

There was companionable silence between them for a few minutes before a thought crossed Lily's mind.

"I thought you were ignoring me."

James shrugged, "After seeing what you did to your former friend, I decided that it would be in my best interest not to piss you off as you and I have always been on much less friendly terms than you and Snape. If, however, it would keep you happy if I left, I can do that, too."

"No, you can stay. Just, don't aim a curse at any of my friends," Lily cracked a smile and James smirked.

"Copy that."

The green-eyed girl sighed and leaned her head onto James' shoulder, "I still don't understand why he would do that."

James shrugged and gave a non-committing sound.

There was another pause before he took a deep breath, let it out, and said, "I want to apologize about last night." Lily raised her head off of James' shoulder and stared at him. "I don't remember all of the particulars, but I'm sure I said at least one thing that hurt you."

Lily was silent a moment before grinning a little, "I never thought I would live to see the day when James Potter apologized. Especially not to me. You are forgiven, however, and I apologize for taking refuge in your room."

James gave a weary smile and stared down at the carpet between his feet, "We're a mess."

Lily laughed, "That we are. At least Marlene and Sirius seem to have sorted themselves out." She indicated where the two were sitting, lip-locked, in front of the fireplace.

James snorted and rolled his eyes, "I wonder if that means the double-date is back on."

Lily shrugged, "Maybe. Hard to know with those two."

James agreed and they lapsed back into silence.

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><p>When their fellow Gryffindors began to trickle back into the common room and dorms, the gathered sixth years picked themselves up and headed up to the comfort of their bed. Once all were warm under the covers, their minds began to wander.<p>

Having long calmed down from the excitement of the confrontation with Snape, Sirius couldn't help but think of what had happened in that empty classroom and later in the Gryffindor common room. He couldn't deny to himself any longer that he liked Marlene a great deal more than any other girl he had been with before, but still wasn't certain exactly how far that favoritism reached. He didn't think he loved her. That seemed to be something he would never do: fall in love with someone. He was not the kind of bloke to do that. Even just the idea of one date was a little odd for him, especially as the intention was not to get into her pants afterwards. He wasn't yet sure if there would be any dates after, but he did know he wasn't going to cross that option off of the list yet. And that sent a bit of an odd tingle down his spine. A second date. Maybe alone. Maybe over the summer and they could go to one of those things the muggles go to on dates. The mooveys? Meh, he'd figure it out later. First and foremost, though, he wasn't in love with Marlene McKinnon. He was, however, deeply fascinated by her.

Remus Lupin was focusing on, as James so eloquently called it, his "furry little problem." The full moon was in a couple of nights and he was beginning to feel the symptoms. As always, all of his worries came back in full force. They were always with him, stored in the back of his mind, but his nervousness was always most apparent when the full moon was near. The worries of accidentally attacking his friends, or even just one of his fellow students. The worries of not making it to the tree in time and running wild over the grounds. The worries of someone finding out. All of these worries, especially the last one, were amplified in the knowledge that McGonagall suspected something was up.

Peter's thoughts were probably the most inconsequential of all of his friends, though by no means completely excusable. With everything that had happened that night, Peter had never made it down to dinner and was therefore exceedingly hungry. Just thinking about the hearty beef stew, sweet pumpkin juice, and warm bread he had missed made his stomach grumble in protest of it's emptiness. He was going to have a big breakfast tomorrow morning.

The mind of the last Marauder was being kept busy by analysing and analysing again every single second, word, look, and feeling that had passed between himself and Lily that day, searching for anymore hidden meaning or message. He had been quite serious in deciding that Lily was a force to be reckoned with and intended to stay on her good side for as long as possible. She had, however, seemed far less opposed to him today than in times past. And what was with her laying her head on his shoulder earlier? It was a move much friendlier than any she had directed towards him before. Did she want to be friends? Or was it simply the stress of the last couple of days?

Lily, for her part, was trying to ignore everything that had happened that day, which, of course, just brought it all to the forefront of her mind. She knew she ought to feel exhausted, but her body could no sooner rest than her buzzing thoughts. She also knew that something had shifted in her relationship with James Potter, she just wasn't sure what it was yet. And while her thoughts and memories could no more rest on one thing than a bee on one flower, they did seem to revolve around one central point, like the planets around the Sun: where was James Potter this moment, what was he doing, and what was he thinking about?

Mary, likewise, wanted to forget about a few thing from that day, but as the confrontation with Snape was the most exciting part of her day (as was to be expected) she had trouble finding something else on which to focus. Hearing his voice behind her had surprised her, but she was glad that she had been able to react and fend him off until Remus and Peter had shown up and helped her. Thank goodness he had missed, because she didn't want to think about the pain she would have been in had he hit his mark, let alone know the pain personally.

The happiest mind of all of the sixth years belonged to Marlene. The Mary business had shaken her, but the earlier events of the classroom were able to distract her. While not entirely satisfied with how she had gone about getting her way, she was glad to have it. She couldn't help but wonder, though, if Lily would consent to the double date or if she was still be determined not to go. Lily had seemed happy talking with James earlier, and if not that, at the very least she was chummier. She hadn't ripped his head off, in any case. That was something good to be considered.

While she had avoided most of the drama of the other sixth years, Dorcas had obtained her own drama. A boy, Alex Williams, had told her he liked her. She didn't know the boy very well and therefore wasn't able to return the sentiments. Feeling a little bad about causing the disappointed look on his face, she did mention that she wouldn't be totally opposed to getting to know him better. He offered meeting in the library the next day and working on homework together. She had agreed. It wasn't the most romantic of settings, but seeing as the point was to get to know him better, she supposed that wasn't so bad. In any case, he had looked appealing with broad shoulders, dark curly hair, and friendly brown eyes. And wasn't he on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team?

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><p><strong>So there's that. <strong>

**Just a couple notes: the "football" Lily mentions is "soccer" for you Americans who are tired and have brains so stuffed with other information that the different word use is shoved into the back of your mind. I did not go into exactly what Snape did or have him hit Mary with the curse because I didn't really feel like writing him getting in trouble, sorry! I know, I'm super ****lazy.**

**Don't forget that I love reviews, and if you are signed in, I will reply! The review can be anything (including an exclamation point): comments, concerns, questions, random facts your learned today, anything else. They brighten up my day and make me smile.**

**I hope you have a great week! Until next time!**

**-Katherine**


	5. Chapter 10

**Hi everyone! I am so, so incredibly sorry that this is up late. I was at the lake with friends over Columbus Day weekend and had no time to write and then at school all day today. This actually almost didn't make it up today because I have PSAT testing tomorrow and am supposed to be sleeping right now :/ **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**I'll talk more at the end, but without further ado, here is chapter 10 of _The Longest, Most Convoluted and Absolutely Ridiculous Way to Plan to Eventually Go on a Double Date_: **

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><p>On April 9th of 1977, Marlene McKinnon put on a blue dress. She made Lily apply her lipstick and a light dusting of eye makeup, because her own hands were shaking from nerves. She slipped into brown sandals and stowed away essentials in her purse. Then, after over an hour's worth of preparations, she walked down the stairs from the girls' dormitories to the Gryffindor Common Room.<p>

There, she found quite possibly the biggest idiot she had ever known with most definitely the biggest grin she had ever seen spreading across his face. "Good evening, Mar," he said, quite gentleman-like but also quite unlike his usual self.

"Hi."

He offered her flowers, which she graciously accepted, though the bouquet was definitely something Remus had picked out. "These aren't going to explode, are they?" He only chuckled and answered in the negative.

Had he actually combed his hair? This was nothing like the Sirius Marlene knew. He was being polite, normal, and… did she have to say it?... boring.

So naturally, she pushed him down. As he lifted one of his legs through the portrait hole, a light tap was all that was needed to leave him in a heap on the ground. "What was that for?" he shouted as he stood up and brushed off his (ironed? really?) trousers.

"You're being weird," Marlene answered simply.

"Weird?"

"Yes. We both know that I think you're a prat and you think I'm a snob, so let's continue to act that way, except for now we're a prat and a snob who quite fancy each other. Agreed?"

"Who put you in charge?" Sirius asked grumpily, but his tone was just light enough that Marlene interpreted it as "I love you." She gave a wry smile.

"That's more like it."

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><p>Lily glanced up from her black ballet slippers as she walked down the stairs in time to see James' jaw slacken and his eyes widen. He visibly gulped at the sight of her and she couldn't help but smirk a little, knowing the green dress she had picked to bring out her eyes did indeed look bloody fantastic on her. When he saw the smirk, James immediately put his jaw back where it belonged and straightened his back a little more, intent, at the very least, to not <em>appear<em> as much the lovesick fool as he really was.

Lily glanced back at her feet for the last few steps, determined not to trip, before looking up again to walk over to James. He took her hand and kissed the back of it, murmuring, "You look beautiful."

She smiled a little and replied, "Thank you," and gave him – in his white shirt tucked into his black trousers, black leather belt, black tie loose, and hair its usual mess glory – a once-over and teased, "You don't look so bad yourself."

James smirked, "Amazing what a bath will do, huh?"

Lily wrinkled her nose but laughed, "Indeed it is."

James gave her one more look before smiling and asking, "Shall we?"

She nodded and took his offered hand, laughing when she saw Marlene push Sirius and already knowing this date was going to be amazing.

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><p>"So where are you taking us?" Lily asked as the four walked along the road to Hogsmeade.<p>

James glanced down at her and smirked, "It's a surprise."

Lily raised an eyebrow, not impressed, "I don't particularly like surprises."

James raised a hand to his chest and mocked hurt, "After that near heart attack you gave me in the Great Hall the other day, I think you can wait a little longer to find out where you're going for the date you so kindly asked for."

"Yeah, Ginger, you should have seen his face. I haven't seen him that surprised since 2nd year when he made it on the Quidditch team."

Lily looked over over at Sirius and deadpanned, "I was there you git. In case you forgot, I was the one actually standing in front of him."

"Yeah, Padfoot. And besides, I wasn't surprised when I made the team. We all knew that it was bloody obvious I was going to make in on with my skill."

Sirius snorted, "Yeah, you have skill and I get along with my family."

James gasped, "You take that back!"

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><p>Lily glanced over at Marlene as they entered Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. Marlene just rolled her eyes and smiled and Lily couldn't help but grin. So typical of boys.<p>

James pulled out a chair for Lily and Sirius did the same for Marlene, both of the girls sitting down before the boys took their seats.

Throughout the whole tea, neither of the girls said a work about the choice in location, but when they were done and Sirius asked what they would like to do next, Lily raised a challenging eyebrow and replied, "Zonko's."

That, of course, was music to the Marauders' ears and they stood up straight away and started heading for the door before hearing a throat clear behind them and turning back around sheepishly. "Oops," James said.

Once everyone was up and on their way, the two couples started to separate, having different conversations and disappearing into their own little worlds. Just before entering the joke shop, they decided to meet at the Three Broomsticks in three hours and headed their separate ways.

James showed Lily his favorite joke items, from fake wands to hiccup sweets. He was so excited as he explained the magic behind the items that, despite already knowing everything James was telling her, Lily couldn't help but be excited too.

After lightening their pockets a little, Lily and James headed off to Honeyduke's in pursuit of Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, joking and laughing as they walked side-by-side, using the excuse of the dropping temperature to explain why they were so close.

Squeezing between the other students, James whispered in Lily's ear, "I heard there's a trap door back to the castle somewhere in this shop."

"Is that so? Perhaps we should just skip the meeting with Marlene and Sirius, then." She smirked a little at James's dumbstruck expression. "Only teasing, Potter," she sang.

James, grumbling a little, collected the candy and took it up to the counter and, after insisting he pay, brushed a feather-light kiss on Lily's cheek.

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><p>"Oi, you there, Prongs!" Sirius shouted, grabbing the attention of the entire street, "Thought you'd disappeared with Lily down the Honeyduke's secret passage."<p>

"Say that a bit louder, would you, Padfoot?" James replied, rolling his eyes and walking over to Sirius and Marlene, hand-in-hand with Lily, "I don't think everyone heard you."

"HEY! EVERYONE! THERE'S A SECRET PASSAGE IN HONEYDUKE'S BACK TO HOGWARTS!"

James huffed and wrapped his arm around Sirius's head, covering his mouth and dragging him off to The Three Broomsticks, Lily and Marlene in tow.

"Four butterbeers, please," James said as the other three found seats.

"Finally got the guts to ask Lily Evans on a date, did you?" Madam Rosmerta teased, glancing over at the redhaired girl.

James shook his head, "She asked me out."

Madam Rosmerta raised an eyebrow, "Is that right? Never thought I would live to see the day Lily Evans realized she likes James Potter." She handed him the four butterbeers and hold out a hand for the money, which he gave to her, and smiled, "Enjoy."

Over the butterbeers, the four teenagers talked about what they bought, their classes and teachers, how much they loved the weekend, and all of the other things teenagers talk about. Before long, they made their way back to the castle, Lily with her arm through James's and tucked into his side, Marlene and Sirius kissing every five seconds.

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><p>That night, Marlene and Lily met James and Sirius down in the Gryffindor Common Room and together, under James's invisibility cloak, they went up to the Astronomy Tower to, well, watch the stars, the couples sitting apart from one another.<p>

Lily leaned against James's shoulder, buried into his jacket and enjoying his smell and warmth. "I had fun today."

James grinned, "I'm glad. Maybe we can do this again sometime?"

Lily looked up at him and shifted a little so their faces were centimeters apart. "I would like that," she whispered before closing the distance and starting the first of what would be many, many kisses between them.

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><p><strong>This chapter has not been read over very thoroughly, so please please please do not hesitate to tell me about any grammatical errors or anything that doesn't make sense so I can go back and edit. I'll probably read over it tomorrow, but we'll see because I have a lot of homework (and I'm really hating giving all of these excuses because it sounds so fake to me, but I really do feel awful for not getting this up and having so much work. Please complain to my teachers!). <strong>

**So, um, this is actually the last chapter of this story. It feels weird for it to be done. I guess it won't sink in until tomorrow. Or next week. Because it's the last chapter, though, I would like to give everyone a MASSIVE thank you for reading, favoriting, following, and reviewing. You have all been wonderful and so, so sweet and kind. I would like to give an especially big thank you to Haley for putting up with my nagging her to finish writing chapters and for just being such a beautiful, amazing person. And a little fact for those that are still reading this ridiculously long Author's Notes: Haley actually wrote the very first section of this when Marlene pushes Sirius because of reasons. **

**On another notes, I'm actually working on another Jily fanfic right now, this one solo (Haley has tons of Jily fanfics, anyway. Speaking of which, look out for another story hopefully coming up soon on her account that I love. Haley, *hint, hint, wink, wink* that's your cue to get that story up because it needs to be shared), although I'm not sure when that will go up because I have this rule that I won't start putting up a multi-chapter story ****until the whole thing is written and I'm having a little bit of writer's block/the continuous problem of no time. **

**I need to get to bed soon, so just as one last thing, remember that I love reviews and will reply if you are logged in (it's not that I love those that are not logged in less, I'm just too lazy to copy and paste the names and find them. I'm sorry; you are beautiful, you are loved, I thank you.) so please do that. Even if it's not the nicest thing (although I will ask that you don't flame me) because I love and want to improve my writing and can only do that with feedback. Questions, comments, concerns, witty responses, funny stories, random facts, anything. If you're still reading this Author's Notes, mention Purple Unicorns in you review. I didn't mean for this to be this long.**

**Until next time and love always, **

**-Katherine**


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